"Oh no, this has a horny anime artstyle, I'd be embarrassed to have it on my library!"
If that is what you have to say, shut your fucking mouth. You are missing out on a banger of a metroidvania that - while not as polished as Hollow Knight - has a deep layer of controls, challenging boss fights and an incredible soundtrack.
Grow up and learn not to judge a book by its cover.

Looking up a wiki for this game before finishing it might be one of the biggest regrets I've had in my entire life.

An easy 5 stars, I probably don't have to explain myself at this point.

Experiencing this game through its long lifespan has been miserable. And yet, with its core gameplay, likable characters, wide variety of maps, custom servers... I don't have over 19,000 20,000 21,000 hours on it for no reason.
"Despite everything, it's still you."

I still can't believe that I paid $40 for this lackluster piece of shit on the very day that it came out, and that some friends of mine did the same thing. In hindsight, I'm not surprised that it died as soon as its Super Smash Con tournament ended.

Could this be the most underrated game in Valve's extensive library? A singleplayer Counter-Strike campaign with some elements from Half-Life 1 is something I didn't know I wanted until I played it.

Some time ago I saw the game's composer, Laura Shigihara, in the comment section for the "Zombies on Your Lawn" music video on Youtube. The way she passionately talked about it all those years after release was very tragic to me.
This is a beautiful specimen of a game that will never get the loving legacy it deserves. Thank you, EA.

A janky, unbalanced class-based shooter that demonstrates the age of the Source Engine.
But if you love Team Fortress 2, you'll realize that these traits make this game so much better than it has any right to be.

Flawed as hell, but also solid as hell. Incredibly tight controls, interesting level design and banging music all mesh horribly with a crippling screen crunch, reused level aesthetics and some gimmicky boss fights.
If this got a fan remaster or a spiritual successor to unleash its full potential, it could be on par with the classic Sonic games.

You know how I said that Vectorman 1 should have a fan remaster or a spiritual successor to unleash its full potential? This is why.
It's about as bad of a sequel as Half-Life 2 and Doom Eternal.

Between its fast-paced gameplay, sound design and variety of weapons and enemies, replaying this never gets old.

I respect the purpose of showcasing the Source Engine's features, but when viewed as a video game, this is so much more boring than Half-Life 1 and nothing will ever change my stance.

The absolute pinnacle of "short but sweet" in the video game industry.

Maybe the artstyle wasn't the best for the series, but given the hindsight of Doom Eternal, this has aged pretty damn well.